


why you actin’ (vain for my love)

by hyungsobbing



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Quidditch, Whipped jaehyun, nerd n jock, u don’t rlly need to know about the HP universe to read this fic!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 05:03:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyungsobbing/pseuds/hyungsobbing
Summary: In order to get his crush of 3 years to like him back, Jaehyun must, not in any particular order:a. blow up a few cauldronsb. act as stupid as possible (not difficult)c. give him a bunch of flowers, causing him to almost die from sneezingd. all of the above.





	why you actin’ (vain for my love)

Doyoung’s life is normal. Predictable, easy, with constant Outstandings in all his classes. He has a small group of friends, a common barn owl as a pet, and a cute younger brother. Some might even say boring, but Ten’s opinion doesn’t really count. He’s perfectly content the way his life at Hogwarts is going.

 

Which is why, when he’s sitting quietly at the library, advanced Transfiguration essay half-done in front of him, he cringes in despair when someone slides into the seat next to him.

 

“Doyoung,” the person greets, his maroon and black robes rustling.

 

“Jung.” He replies with no emotion whatsoever. _Please leave me alone,_ he adds as an afterthought, but doesn’t say it out loud—Jaehyun may start crying, and his rabid fanclub would cast nasty hexes on Doyoung’s bed—again.

 

“Great weather outside, isn’t it?” Jaehyun says conversationally, and years of etiquette lessons ingrained into him is the only thing that forces Doyoung to look up politely. The Gryffindor sits in the chair next to him, looking at him hopefully. “Great weather to, you know, go outside and—”

 

Doyoung sighs almost imperceptibly. Jaehyun’s smile dims a little, dimples disappearing. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s raining outside. As it has been for the past week.”

 

“I didn’t realise,” Jaehyun murmurs quietly, aware of the librarian’s eyes on them. “You mean you’re telling me that you’ve been playing Quidditch in the pouring rain without noticing the rain?” Doyoung says cynically, already capping his inkwell and rolling up his parchment, ready to leave. He won’t get any work done with Jaehyun bothering him.

 

“I mean,” Jaehyun frowns, fingers drumming on the surface of the table.

 

“I have to go.” Doyoung cuts him off abruptly, shouldering his bag and pushing the chair back.

 

“Wait—” Jaehyun calls weakly, but Doyoung is already gone. He exhales heavily, thumping his head on the table.

 

\--

 

“Johnny, you lied to me!” Jaehyun whines, slamming the door behind him and falling onto his friend’s bed face-first. Johnny hums absently, fingers flicking through the Quidditch rule book and pressing his wand to a page, a bookmark forming on the side. “He just walked out on me! You said to be chill to him and I did, but he just upped and left!”

 

The taller Gryffindor swipes a strand of hair out of his face impatiently, eyebrows furrowing as he highlights the page with his wand. “Are you even listening to me?” Jaehyun says petulantly, sending a mild tickling charm towards his side.

 

“I am now.” Johnny says. “Why not you try growing a pair and actually approach him head-on? Like, a bold action that he cannot misinterpret.”

 

Jaehyun scrunches up his nose, thinking. “Like…flowers?”

 

“I guess flowers are okay? Wasn’t really what I was thinking of, though, but—” Johnny trails off as the dorm room doors swing shut, the hinges creaking. “I hope he doesn’t accidentally get something stupid like funeral flowers.” He thinks out to himself, shrugging and going back to his book.

 

Jaehyun would be fine. After all, how badly could he mess up?

 

\--

 

Next to Doyoung, Taeyong holds his fork and knife delicately in each hand, cutting his bacon into precise squares before eating them. On his other side, Ten, a splash of red in a crowd of blue, shovels soggy cornflakes into his mouth faster than he can chew, resulting in his cheeks bulging in an unsightly manner, milk threatening to drip down onto his robes.

 

“Put your book down and eat, Doie. You read too much, honestly, you’re even starting to smell like the pages of old books.” Ten says through a mouthful of cereal. Doyoung wrinkles his nose at the disgusting sight, but reluctantly places his dog-eared book back into his bag.

 

Doyoung sighs and prods lightly at his eggs, the runny yellow yolk looking particularly unappetizing after a measly two hours of sleep. He props an elbow on the table and leans into his hand, planning to catch a few minutes of sleep before his first period.

 

Just as he’s about to drift off, a large, golden-speckled white owl lands right in front of him, perching on his glass of pumpkin juice, tail feathers brushing into the drink. He frowns, untying the letter from the owl’s leg, which pecks lightly at him before stealing a square of bacon from Taeyong’s plate (much to his horror and disgust) and flaps away.

 

“A love letter, Doie?” Ten wiggles his eyebrows, managing to somehow look suggestive even with his cheeks stuffed full off cereal. Doyoung chooses not to deign that with a response, rather peeling open the seal on the letter—and promptly getting a face-full of flowers, the scent overpowering. He yelps in surprise, feeling his eyes start to burn almost instantaneously.

 

He blinks in alarm, spitting out a silky petal, a familiar itch building up behind his nose. Right before he lets out an unsightly sneeze, Taeyong hurriedly takes the bouquet of roses away from him, tapping it lightly to vanish it. Doyoung’s face scrunches up again before sneezing for the fourth time in a row, eyes watering. He sniffles, pulling another petal out of his hair. “Pollen,” he whimpers, tearing up.

 

Taeyong grabs Doyoung’s books and bag off the table, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, Doie, let’s get you to the Hospital Wing.” Doyoung nods, breathing coming in long snuffling sighs.

 

“What kind of idiot admirer tries to kill their crush by sending him a bouquet of flowers, knowing full well that he’s allergic to pollen?” Ten scoffs, walking faster to keep up with their pace. “Clearly, someone who doesn’t know Doyoung very well.” Taeyong reasons.

 

“Or that they hate me and want me to die.” Doyoung sniffles miserably, the effects of his allergy setting in quick.

 

“Don’t be silly, Doie, you’re not going to die from an allergy. Madam Kang will fix you up before you’re able to say ‘Quidditch.’” Ten comforts.

 

“Quidditch,” Doyoung says morosely, just as they enter the Hospital wing, a bronze bell chiming as the doors slide open by themselves.

 

Madam Kang strides over to him, tutting at his puffy eyes and swollen face. “A terrible allergy, this one. I’ll give you something to counteract the swelling, and then a salve to put over affected areas in the future. Do be more careful next time, Mr Kim!” Madam Kang says with no real heat behind her voice, looking fondly at Doyoung, who comes into the wing to help out every now and then.

 

“Not my fault.” Doyoung huffs, and Taeyong and Ten exchange looks behind him. If they were right in what they were thinking, Doyoung was not going to be happy about the implications of this. At all.

 

\--

 

Jaehyun is quiet, eyes narrowed as he stares vacantly up at the sky. _That cloud kind of looks like a bunny,_ he thinks, his head already beginning to hurt from staring for so long. Of course, he was one of the first to know of Doyoung’s allergy. Ten had come storming into the common room, ignoring Johnny as the taller Gryffindor attempts to placate him.

 

“Jaehyun, you’d better have a bloody brilliant explanation as to why you sent my best friend a bouquet of damned flowers, knowing that he’s allergic to pollen? I hope you feel terrible, knowing that he’s been lying on his bed for two days, eyes swollen and unable to go to class.” Ten had seethed, a nearby sofa beginning to levitate a little—with a first year still on it—with the force of his anger. The first year had let out a little squeak and scrambled off the sofa, making a mad dash for his dorm room.

 

“I—what?” Jaehyun had stuttered, a horrible feeling of dread and guilt welling up inside him. “Oh, let me guess. You didn’t know that the guy you’ve been crushing on for _three years_ is allergic to pollen? Merlin, you’re fantastic, you know that?” Ten had hissed, eyes flashing. “You’re lucky I don’t eviscerate you here right now. You’d better grovel at Doyoung’s feet for forgiveness the moment he finds out.” With that, he’d turned on his heel, hand flicking out unnoticeably under his robes to send a jinx at Jaehyun. (He had to be rushed to the Hospital wing for treatment for his boils, after that.)

 

“I’m dead. If he doesn’t kill me first, then I’m throwing myself into the Great Lake.” Jaehyun huffs out loud, Johnny making a vague sympathetic noise under his breath, pages of his magazine rustling in the wind. “Ten is scary. Hot, but scary.”

 

“That’s not who I’m talking about and you know it!” Jaehyun pouts.

 

Johnny looks up, sighing. “Circe, you really don’t have enough balls to just approach him like a normal person. Just—he’s smart, right? Impress him with your…intelligence?” He winces, knowing fully about Jaehyun’s ‘intelligence’.

 

“You must be kidding. I got Poors on half of my OWLs last year and barely managed to pass a few subjects.” Jaehyun says dejectedly. “And what about it? As some muggles say, fake it till you make it!” Johnny looks up and does a little fist-pump, probably meant to be encouraging.

 

“I guess that might work? I can cling onto him so we’d be partners during Potions and brew the potion without exploding it, right? Is that impressive?” A smile begins to grow on Jaehyun’s face, mind already thinking of the possible potions he can charm Professor Park into brewing—he knew how to brew the first-year cure for boils potions.

 

“Oh my god, both of you are like a positive feedback loop of terrible ideas.” Mark’s disembodied voice says, and both of them look up immediately to see Mark sitting on the tree above them, head disappearing into the leaves. The only visible part of him were his shoes and the yellow-black of his robes. “And before you ask, no. Nobody played a prank on me. I got up here myself ‘cause I was practicing Apparation and landed here instead of the kitchens.”

 

Jaehyun pats the ground next to him, and Mark jumps off the tree, landing right on the cushion he’d conjured just in time. “What’s a positive feedback loop?” He asks with genuine curiosity.

 

“Well, Jaehyun, that would be a muggle science concept.” Ten says from behind him, sitting down next to Johnny. Doyoung follows behind Ten, scowling darkly, and choosing to sit behind all of them.

 

Immediately, Jaehyun’s heart picks up its pace, and he unconsciously straightens up, brushing his stray bangs to one side. “Jung.” Doyoung greets him first, and Jaehyun’s inner schoolgirl self lets out a silent squeal.

 

“Doyoung,” he starts, unable to hold back the smile from breaking out on his face at the sight of his crush, “Hi.” He finishes lamely.

 

Ten reaches around Johnny to poke him harshly, head jerking towards Doyoung. _Ah,_ Jaehyun winces internally. “Listen, Doyoung, I’m really sorry. If I’d known, I definitely wouldn’t have given them to you.” He apologizes, having run through the line in his head for days. Just for this one moment.

 

“What?” Doyoung slants his eyebrows.

 

“Oh, uh, the flowers.” Jaehyun stammers, beads of perspiration beginning to roll down his neck from nervousness. “Oh, it was you.” Doyoung notes calmly, his face showing little emotion.

 

Jaehyun tenses, afraid of Doyoung’s non-reaction. Was he about to hex him? “I figured no one else in this entire school would be as stupid to do that other than you.” Doyoung continues, and Jaehyun can’t decide if he feels relieved or offended, choosing to nod weakly, instead, flashing a small, sincere, smile at him.

 

This time, instead of Ten, it’s Johnny nudging him instead, looking pointedly from Doyoung’s Advanced Transfiguration textbook to him. “Oh, are you studying for the pop quiz tomorrow? So am I, actually. My favourite part of the syllabus is the, uh,” He stutters to a pause, running through whatever little information he had retained from his rare moments of lucidity during classes. “The part about cats being able to be transfigured into anything except mushrooms.”

 

“Normally, I’d be alarmed, as I’ve never heard about…that before. But knowing you, you probably mean the fact that the common Conocybe Filaris mushroom cannot be stirred into a cauldron without bezoar stone being infused into it. Which is, by the way, not part of Charms. It’s part of the 3rdyear Potions syllabus. Remind me again, which year are you in?” Doyoung says matter-of-factly, and Jaehyun feels his face burn with embarrassment.

 

He hears Mark snickering behind him, and his face flushes even more. “Next time, try passing your subjects first.” Doyoung advises, a ghost of a wickedly amused smile tugging on the corner of his lips. He picks up his bag and walks off after exchanging a few words with Ten, who had the biggest smirk on his face.

 

There’s silence apart from Mark’s choked snorting for a while, until Yuta whistles. “Wow, I’m so glad I was able to witness another one of Jaehyun’s legendary screw-ups.” Since when had Yuta even been there, anyway?

 

“Shut up.” Jaehyun mutters miserably, running a hand through his hair and flopping back against the grass. Three screw-ups in a row must be his new record for the year.

 

\--

 

“He’s just so bloody stupid, I can feel my braincells rotting whenever he opens his mouth! He mixed up 6thyear Transfiguration work and 3rdyear Potions work. 3rdyear, Taeyong!” Doyoung complains, blanket pulled up over his shoulders, turned on his side.

 

“You sure about that, Doie?” Taeyong murmurs, voice sleep-addled. “I remember you telling me and Ten a few days ago about how his stupidity was kind of endearing.”

 

Doyoung splutters, hands curling into the bedsheets. “When did I ever say that? His idiocy is just—so—I’ve never met someone as stupid as him! Him and his annoying face, with his stupid smile and dimples,” He huffs, eyes rolling upwards.

 

There’s a long silence, and Doyoung wonders whether he’d fallen asleep. That would just be rude. “His stupid smile and dimples, and what else? His lame brown hair and the way it falls over his face so perfectly? His ridiculous eyes and how they sparkle when they talk about Quidditch?” Taeyong deadpans.

 

“Now I’m starting to think _you_ have a crush on him.” Doyoung frowns, an uncomfortable feeling bubbling up in his chest. “Tae, I thought you liked that 7thyear Hufflepuff? Or have you given up on him and moved on to Jaehyun?”

 

“Doie, all those are things you’ve said over the past two years about Jaehyun.” Taeyong groans. Doyoung’s brain stutters to a halt, his prepared comeback freezing in his throat. “I did not.” He retorts weakly.

 

“Let’s see—3rdyear, he blew up his 7thcauldron in the span of 3 years and instead of freaking out over the mess, you helped him clear up the spilled potion while scolding him for his clumsiness. Then, you came back to the dorms and whined about how dumb he was, and accidentally called him adorable with a smile on your face.”

 

Doyoung blanches, cursing himself for his (completely untrue) slip-up and his ridiculously observant best friend.

 

“4thyear, just when Jaehyun became a Chaser for their Quidditch team, you went to support Ravenclaw and Gryffindor’s matches, and when he fell off his broom, you shot a spell at him to soften his fall, and afterwards visited him in the Hospital Wing when he was unconscious and called him stupid for falling off his broom and being too good at Quidditch.”

 

Doyoung opens and closes his mouth wordlessly, mind flashing back to the mentioned incident. _Shit,_ had he really done that?

 

“5thyear, you were partners in Defence Against the Dark Arts and when he beat you using Tarantallegra, it wasn’t because he actually beat you, but because you were too busy staring at his new hair colour.” Taeyong continues listing.

 

“It was blonde,” Doyoung whispers helplessly.

 

“Beginning of 6thyear, he—”

 

“Okay, okay, I get it, Tae!” He groans. “But the thing is—”

 

There’s a loud grumbling from the corner of the room. “Can both of you shut the hell up about Doyoung’s love life? It’s one in the morning, for Merlin’s sake!” Their other dorm mate, Hyunsuk, whines.

 

Suitably chastised, Doyoung settles back into bed and whisper-yells a _sorry_ at Hyunsuk, who lets out a loud snore in response. He’ll deal with this tomorrow, when he’s more awake and less panicky over _Jung Jaehyun_.

 

\--

 

He doesn’t get the chance to contemplate his sorry self, because at 9 in the morning on the next Saturday morning, a student from a lower year bursts into his dorms, eyes wide. “Doyoung hyung?” He pants, hand propped against the doorframe for support.

 

Doyoung pokes his head out of the mess of blankets on his bed, groaning. “What is it, you pest?” He grumbles.

 

“You have to come down _now_.” Donghyuck stresses his words, stomping his foot for emphasis. How did he even get into the Ravenclaw dorm? “Why? Why do you have to bother me now? Are our weekly tutoring sessions not enough for you?” Doyoung grouses, rubbing a hand over his eyes tiredly.

 

“It’s about Jeno.” Donghyuck says.

 

Doyoung sits up immediately, tugging his wand out from under his pillow and flicking a cleaning spell on himself, tugging on his robes. “What about him?” He asks briskly, slipping on his shoes.

 

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “See, if only you’d care this much about me—” Doyoung glares at him, and Donghyuck sighs. “He and Jaemin are fighting.”

 

“Jaemin?” He echoes incredulously. Jeno had gushed about the boy for ages ever since he’d first entered Hogwarts. He knew more about Jaemin from Jeno’s rambling than he’d ever wanted to know—including the boy’s daily routines and his habit of changing his hair colours to ridiculous shades every term.

 

“Yeah, they’re fighting in the hallway. Yukhei is worried a teacher may come and give them all detention.”

 

“Show me.” Doyoung orders, and Donghyuck complies with minimal complaining.

 

\--

 

True enough, Jeno and Jaemin were fighting. Yukhei, a 4thyear Gryffindor, stands a safe distance away from the argument, watching them with mildly terrified eyes. When he sees Doyoung coming in tow with Donghyuck, his eyes light up with relief, clasping on to Donghyuck’s arm. “Doyoung hyung, they’re fighting. This is scary—Jeno and Jaemin never fight.” Yukhei whines, eyes wide.

 

Doyoung sighs, rolling up his sleeves and stalking closer to the two boys. Jaemin has his wand clenched in his fist, green and black robes billowing about him. Jeno is staring right back at Jaemin, fire burning in his usually mellow gaze.

 

“—you should’ve known better than to accept something from Felix. Circe, Jeno, he’s caused eleven accidents in the past half a year!” Jaemin grinds out, eyes flashing.

 

“Felix and I are _friends_!” Jeno shoots back. Just then, Doyoung notices a good section of the back of Jeno’s robes had been burnt off, the yellow inner parts charred and still slightly smoking. Black ash litters the floor with every step he takes towards Jaemin, and Doyoung inhales sharply.

 

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be! Maybe you should have just listened to me rather than being all close and touchy with Felix!” Jaemin shouts, sparks shooting from the tip of his wand.

 

“What in the bloody hell is happening here?” A voice says, panting and out of breath. Doyoung turns around sharply to see Jaehyun standing beside him. “Your brother and Jeno are fighting, over Jeno accepting something from Felix, and Jaemin is mad at him—Merlin, I actually don’t know.” Doyoung huffs, ready to step in and intervene, wand at the ready.

 

“Wait,” Jaehyun puts his arm on Doyoung’s forearm, and Doyoung freezes. “Do you think we should let them settle it themselves? I mean, I don’t know if you know, but Jaemin has been constantly ranting to me about his crush on your brother, and…” He trails off, eyebrows raising.

 

Doyoung groans. Great, teenage angst and love. Just what he needed right now. “Fine. Whatever. Only for a while, though, because right after they settle this, I’m going to find Felix and beat him up. I don’t care that he’s three years younger than me.” Jaehyun nods, satisfied.

 

They watch from a distance, Yukhei and Donghyuck hiding behind them. Jaemin and Jeno have progressed from minor insults to screaming in each other’s faces. “He probably just thinks you’re easy!” Jaemin screams, tips of his ears turning red from anger.

 

“Do you think we should intervene now?” Doyoung frowns at them. Jaemin calling his younger brother easy is definitely a no-go, but he knows Jaemin, and he was probably just caught up in the heat of his emotions—which doesn’t excuse him. He’ll be receiving a stern talking-to from Doyoung later.

 

Just at that moment, Jeno points his wand at Jaemin, arm shaking. “Shut up.” He hisses, eyes beginning to tear up. Jaemin starts at Jeno’s tears, but doesn’t back down. “You know it’s true!” Jaemin retorts.

 

“Okay, I think we should step in now.” Jaehyun says decisively, stepping forward, wand flicking out from under his robes. Doyoung follows him, making a beeline towards Jeno, and he’s just in time. Jeno shoots a nasty stinging hex at Jaemin, and Doyoung pulls Jeno away just in time for the spell to miss Jaemin and hit the wall behind them.

 

“Jeno!” Doyoung gasps, wrapping an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders, pulling him back. He taps Jeno’s hand, and the fight goes out of him at once, relinquishing his want to Doyoung without any fuss.

 

Opposite them, Jaehyun has both arms around Jaemin, hugging his brother to his chest and stroking his hair comfortingly. Jaemin doesn’t cry easily, but his breath comes in deep, huffing breaths, shoulders shaking. Donghyuck and Yukhei have long gone, running back to their dorms to avoid the consequences of their fight.

 

Right at that exact moment, Professor Park turns the corner, alerted by the raised voices. “What’s going on here?” He asks firmly.

 

“We’ve got it under control, Professor.” Doyoung assures him, arm wrapped tightly around Jeno’s shoulder, jerking his head at Jaehyun, signaling for them to go to a quieter place to settle the problem. “Good, good.” Professor Park says, concerned gaze landing on small forms of Jaemin and Jeno, and then looking up at Doyoung and Jaehyun questioningly. Jaehyun shakes his head imperceptibly, frowning slightly.

 

It shows the great amount of the trust that Professor Park has in both of the 6thyears that he backs off, gesturing for them to go on. “C’mon, Jeno,” Doyoung coaxes gently, using the sleeves of his robes to wipe his tears. “Let’s go.” Jeno nods shakily, following Jaehyun and Jaemin down along the corridors.

 

Once they’ve reached a quieter part of school, in a spacious hidden alcove, Jaehyun stops, and Doyoung follows suit. “So, do you want to tell us what happened?” Jaehyun asks gently, tone non-judgmental.

 

Jeno and Jaemin don’t speak for some time, and Doyoung puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder, smiling. “Felix gave me a small sphere-shaped thing, and when I touched it, it exploded, burning part of my robes off. But I don’t see why Jaemin is so angry!” Jeno finishes, brow furrowing.

 

“I told you he was up to no good!” Jaemin protests. “I told you, he doesn’t like you! He’s just playing with you—and look! He tried to kill you with that thing.”

 

“He didn’t try to kill me, Jaem, it was a prank! And an almost harmless one at that.” Jeno defends. “Harmless? He blew half of your robes up!” Jaemin objects.

 

As if he hadn’t heard him, Jeno continues, “Plus, how many times do I have to tell you, I don’t like him, and he doesn’t like me! I don’t know why you keep on hanging on to that ridiculous notion.” Sensing Jeno’s distress, Doyoung pulls his younger brother closer, hand gripping firmly onto his.

 

“Right.” Jaemin mutters, gaze cast downwards. “You don’t.”

 

Jeno groans, raking a hand through his hair. “I don’t! I keep telling you, I like someone else.”

 

“Who?” Jaemin demands immediately, taking a step forward once Jaehyun releases his arm.

 

Doyoung meets Jaehyun’s eyes over the top of third years’ heads, tilting his head slightly to the left. Jaehyun nods minutely, and quietly, they both slip out of the alcove, leaving the younger boys alone to settle their issues by themselves.

 

They walk in silence for a while, Doyoung mulling over Jeno’s words. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t aware of his younger brother’s feelings towards Jaemin, but it amazed him how Jaemin could be so oblivious. Maybe he inherited his stubbornness to face the facts from his elder brother.

 

“So, Jeno and Jaemin,” Jaehyun starts slightly awkwardly. “What about them?” Doyoung replies.

 

“They…like each other?” Jaehyun muses. “Jaemin likes Jeno, too?” Doyoung asks.

 

Jaehyun snorts. “As if it wasn’t already obvious. The boy follows your younger brother around like he’s the most beautiful angel to walk this earth.”

 

“Are you saying Jeno isn’t?” Doyoung raises an eyebrow, a cheeky undertone in his voice.

 

“Well, clearly not, since you’re here.” Jaehyun says smoothly, not stuttering or breaking his stride even once. A surprising fondness blooms in Doyoung’s chest, and he has to make a conscious effort to fight his smile back. “Just when I thought we could have a civil conversation.” He sighs, turning the corner to the Ravenclaw dorms.

 

He expects Jaehyun to leave, but he doesn’t. Rather, Jaehyun follows him, continuing to talk. “So, you know how the next Quidditch match is between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?” Jaehyun says amiably, pretending Doyoung hadn’t just dissed him. “Yeah. Are you going?” He adjusts the scarf around his neck—which was ridiculous, by the way, he didn’t need a scarf. The interior of the castle was perfectly warm.

 

“I don’t know.” He shrugs nonchalantly, eyes tracking to the ends of Jaehyun’s scarf, one end poking out of his robes, pushing down the urge to adjust it. “You should go! I think it’s one of Jeno’s first games.” Jaehyun nods.

 

“You think I don’t know my own little brother’s games, Jung?” Doyoung says, mock-offended. Jaehyun seems to take his fake irritation as real, expression apologetic. “I didn’t mean it. I just think you should go.”

 

Doyoung huffs. “I’m just joking, Jaehyun, relax.” Jaehyun’s face lights up at the use of his first name, and Doyoung instinctively reaches out to tug the end of his scarf, tucking it securely under his robes, smoothing a hand over his collar. “I’ll be there.” He says, before answering the riddle and pushing the door to the dorms open. “Go back and do your homework!” He calls over his shoulder, catching Jaehyun’s awestruck expression just as the door swings shut.

 

The moment the door closes firmly, he slides down against the wall, eyes wide as he realises what he’d just did. “Oh god, what if he thinks I’m actually interested in him?” He groans out loud, hands pressed against his face.

 

“What if you actually are?” Taeyong says from the couch, sparing a judgmental glance at him. Doyoung pretends not to hear him.

 

\--

 

At the end of December, Doyoung doesn’t return home, and neither does Jeno. He’d received a letter via his owl, Tokki, from his parents, saying that they were on a vacation somewhere in Antarctica, along with their Christmas presents (two matching sweaters). Seeing no point in returning to an empty home, he and Jeno had decided to remain in Hogwarts.

 

Much to the delight on Jeno, Jaehyun and Jaemin were staying back over the Christmas break too. He’d found out that Jeno and Jaemin had reconciled but—thankfully—didn’t start dating. Fourteen was way too young to start dating.

 

Unfortunately, them staying back in Hogwarts with not many others meant that Jaehyun had way more time to bother Doyoung. Every time he entered the Great Hall, Jaehyun was there at the Ravenclaw table, sitting one seat next to Doyoung’s usual seat. If he walked into the library, Jaehyun would be there, books open in front of him but head pillowed on his arm, and the patting the seat next to him. When he was at the Great Lake, hoping for a peaceful afternoon away from Jeno and Jaemin’s antics, Jaehyun was there, smiling angelically at him and striking up a conversation.

 

It got to the point where the Gryffindor’s company was so expected that he’d began to seek him out if Jaehyun wasn’t already with him. On the 8thday of break, he’d subconsciously walked to the Gryffindor tower, and tried to charm the Fat Lady into letting him in without a password. It had worked, and Doyoung was about to step into the dorms when he froze, realizing what he was doing.

 

What was he doing, actively searching for Jaehyun’s company? Not two months ago, he’d put so much effort into avoiding Jaehyun, ducking out of the corridor whenever he saw him approaching; switching seats with his year mates if Jaehyun so much as walked towards his general vicinity. What if Taeyong had been right? What if Doyoung actually, Merlin forbid, thought Jaehyun was cute? What if he actually _liked_ —

 

“Doyoungie!” A surprised voice says, and Doyoung looks up into Jaehyun’s warm brown eyes. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you!”

 

“I just,” Doyoung struggles to find the words, his thoughts jamming up the moment he sees Jaehyun. “Uh, have you heard about the dating scandal between Kim Junkyu and Mashiho? The families are saying that an interracial marriage is the most scandalous thing to happen.” He mentally pats himself for the save. If there was one thing him and Jaehyun had in common, shockingly, it was their mutual love for gossip. (He blamed Ten for influencing him.) And Hogwarts was simply a breeding ground for the most outrageous of gossip.

 

Jaehyun laughs, the sound echoing around the deserted hallway. “Imagine thinking that’s more scandalous than the headmaster and his relationship with a recently graduated student. Circe, they’re like forty years apart. Also, why don’t you come in? It’s freezing outside.” Jaehyun makes a face, closing the door behind Doyoung.

 

Leading Doyoung up the stairs, he pulls open the door to his dormitory. “You haven’t been inside the dorms before, right? Sorry, it’s a little messy.” He says apologetically. A little would be an understatement. Doyoung liked organization and themes in a room, but the only running theme for the dorm seemed to be chaos. Clothes are flung haphazardly on chairs and bedposts, and the trunks seemed like they’ve never been unpacked properly. A Quidditch poster (Doyoung can’t actually identify the team) is hanging from the wall by a single corner, and homework sheets are scattered all over on the floor.

 

Doyoung cringes, pulling out his wand. He casts a few charms, and the clothes fly onto the beds, folding themselves neatly on their owner’s bed. The poster and a few other books are righted, and the homework sheets stack themselves up in a neat pile on the bedside tables, the trunks shutting with a soft thud. “That’s all I can do for now. Jaehyun, do you and your roommates never clean up?” He says exasperatedly.

 

“Woah,” Jaehyun breathes, looking around the significantly neater room in awe. “Uh, no? We just…leave it like that. Anyway, Johnny is usually the one tripping over the mess, so I could care less.”

 

A laughter bubbles out of Doyoung’s mouth unbidden, and suddenly he’s hunched over, laughing hysterically. _It wasn’t even that funny,_ his inner self scolds him, but he continues laughing anyway. “Um, are you okay?” He hears Jaehyun say.

 

He doesn’t reply for a while, hand pressed over his stomach, giggling hysterically. Taking deep breaths, he straightens up, smile etched on his face. “I’m fine. Don’t worry, you’re not actually that funny.”

 

Jaehyun smiles, a touch fond. “You’re cute.” Then he flushes all the way to the tips of his ears, as if he’d just realised what he’d said. “I mean, you are!”

 

Doyoung doesn’t blush. He definitely doesn’t blush.

 

\--

 

A day before the school term starts again, Ten comes barreling into the Great Hall during lunch, Taeyong following behind him calmly. “How’s my favourite nerd doing? Did you enjoy your break? What did you do?” He crashes into Doyoung’s arms, and Doyoung smiles, patting his head. “I should be asking you that question. How was Thailand? And Tae, how was Korea? I miss that place.” Doyoung pulls Taeyong into their hug.

 

“It was amazing! I—” Taeyong trails off as he noticed the new addition to their table, sitting quietly. “Jaehyun?” He says incredulously. Ten cranes his neck around Doyoung’s shoulders to stare at Jaehyun. “Doyoung, is he bothering you?”

 

Jaehyun scratches his head sheepishly, and is about to speak up when Doyoung beats him to it. “Actually, no. Ten, did you know he knows a ridiculous amount of gossip relating to the Park family?” Doyoung laughs nervously, gauging his best friends’ reactions.

 

Taeyong narrows his eyes suspiciously, looking around as if he expects someone to pop out screaming April’s Fool’s or something like that. Ten squints at Jaehyun, but his insatiable thirst for gossip wins over his loyalty to Doyoung, and soon enough, he sits next to Jaehyun, smiling innocently. “So, what’s this I hear about Park family gossip?”

 

Doyoung glances at Taeyong warily, unsure if his best friend was going to pull out his wand and jinx Jaehyun or listen in to the gossip. “Did he Imperio you, Doie? You can tell me, you know my uncle works in the Ministry.” Taeyong whispers worriedly. He chokes back a laugh, smiling fondly. Trust Taeyong to be the suspicious one.

 

“No, we just spent a lot of time together during the Winter break,” Doyoung reassures him. “He’s…I wouldn’t say he’s good, but he’s tolerable now, at least.”

 

“That’s generous, coming from someone who used to cast a Disillusionment charm on himself whenever Jaehyun turned a corner, and then whined about him later on in private.” Taeyong teases, settling into the seat next to Doyoung.

 

Flushing, Doyoung pretends he hadn’t heard Taeyong, and leans in to listen on Jaehyun’s 3rdretelling of the Park family drama.

 

\--

 

They’re forced to change their seating arrangement in Potions, and Doyoung lands up next to Jaehyun. Somehow, he isn’t upset, cracking a small grin in Jaehyun’s direction as the Gryffindor flops down in the seat next to him. “Hey, partner.” Jaehyun murmurs. “Hey,” Doyoung replies.

 

They begin brewing Amortentia that day, Professor Lee warning them not to accidentally blow up something or—Merlin forbid—fall into the cauldron. Elbowing Jaehyun, Doyoung snickers and Jaehyun scoffs good-naturedly. “Would anyone like to tell me the dangers of Amortentia?” Professor Lee, a decent teacher with a quick temper, calls.

 

Doyoung puts his hand up immediately. “Mr Kim?”

 

“The drinker will exhibit dangerous emotional instability towards others, and an unhealthy obsession towards the targeted party. Also, the smell of Amortentia is unique to each individual, of which the individual will smell the scent of whatever they find most attractive.” He recites.

 

“Very good. Five points to Ravenclaw. The scent is indeed unique to each individual, so would anyone want to come up here and tell us what you smell?” Professor Lee says, the glint in his eyes looking way too scheming.

 

Besides Doyoung, Jaehyun shifts uncomfortably, and Doyoung casts a concerned glance at him. Jaehyun’s fingers were drumming on the tabletop incessantly, leg shaking. “Mr Jung? Would you like to try?” Professor Lee’s eagle eyes zoom in on Jaehyun, who looks up, paling.

 

“Uh, no thank you—”

 

“I insist. Surely many students would be interested in what a popular boy, such as yourself, would find attractive.” Professor Lee says, gesturing Jaehyun to walk up there. Reluctantly, Jaehyun pushes his chair back, looking nervously back at Doyoung.

 

He reaches the cauldron at the front of the classroom, and inhales the spiraling steam. “Well?” Professor Lee prompts.

 

Jaehyun shifts from leg to leg, restless. “I smell…uh…fresh paint on walls, rain, and…” He stops there, mouth opening and closing but no other words coming out.

 

“Two points to Gryffindor. Yes, I would assume those smells are associated Mr Jung’s most loved items or people,” Professor Lee continues as Jaehyun slides back into his seat, demeanor oddly shy.

 

Doyoung nudges him softly. “You good?”

 

Jaehyun nods. “There was another smell in the potion.” Doyoung hums. “What was it?”

 

“The pages of old books, I think. I didn’t smell that the last time I sniffed the potion.” Jaehyun thinks out loud to himself. Doyoung doesn’t think too much about it. “Must be Johnny’s Quidditch books or something.” He laughs.

 

“Maybe.” Jaehyun murmurs non-committally.

 

\--

 

Before he knows it, January pulls to a close. The Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match is just around the corner, and being one of the last matches of the finals, students begin to hype each other up. The morning of the match, Doyoung walks past a group of Gryffindors with their faces painted in red and arms in gold; and another group of Hufflepuffs with their hair charmed striped black and yellow.

 

“You think we should take sides?” Doyoung mutters to Taeyong from a castle window as he watches Ten lead the screaming horde of fans in the stands to cheer each of the Gryffindor member’s names.

 

“No.” Taeyong murmurs back, watching Ten scream into a magically-boosted microphone, wooden boxes propped under his feet to raise him to the same height as the crowd. “It’s funny enough watching Ten.” Doyoung laughs in assent.

 

He looks down onto the field, and spots a familiar head of brown hair. Right at the moment, Jaehyun looks up, catching Doyoung’s eye. He waves enthusiastically at Doyoung, gesturing for him to come down.

 

Hurrying down the steps, Taeyong following close behind him, he brisk walks to Jaehyun, ghost of a smile on his face. “Doyoungie!” Jaehyun exclaims, breaking away from his Quidditch team.

 

Doyoung pulls out his wand and taps Doyoung’s forehead lightly. “Impervius.” He murmurs.

 

“Did you just jinx me?” Jaehyun jokes, touching his forehead.

 

“No, stupid. It’s a spell to repel water, wind, whatever. Just in case it starts pouring. Don’t tell Jeno I did this, okay? He’ll scold me for not supporting him.” Doyoung pushes his wand back into his pocket, absently brushing Jaehyun’s fringe away from his eyes.

 

Jaehyun stares stunned at Doyoung for a moment, and he worried that he’d stepped over an invisible line. Then, suddenly, he has an armful of Jaehyun, the Gryffindor wrapping his arms around Doyoung tightly. “Thank you,” he says, voice muffled.

 

Doyoung pats his back, not knowing what else to do with his hands awkwardly trapped at the side. “It’s…no problem?” He says hesitantly, and that seemed like the right thing to say, as Jaehyun hugs Doyoung tighter.

 

“Your captain is beginning to stare. All the best!” He says, prying himself away from Jaehyun’s hug, feeling the February chill begin to seep into his bones. “Take this!” Jaehyun hurriedly unwraps his scarf around his neck, throwing it at Doyoung and running back to his team, the tips of his ears turning crimson.

 

Dumbfounded, he lets Taeyong guide him to the stands and wrap the scarf securely around his neck. “Guess you’ve already decided which side to support.” Taeyong teases him and Ten turns around to wink suggestively at him. Blushing, Doyoung shrinks down in his seat. “Whatever.”

 

The match begins with a loud scream, each supporter from opposite ends of the stands standing up to cheer for their team. Doyoung doesn’t stand, but claps for them, waving at Jeno when the 3rdyear whizzes past on his broom, smiling radiantly.

 

If he was going to be honest, he didn’t know much about Quidditch, owing to the fact that he’s never so much as stepped a foot onto the field after their 1styear flying lessons. It’s because of this that he blanks out for the majority of the match, clapping robotically when the people around him began to cheer, the noise resoundingly loud.

 

“Doie! Gryffindor won!” He’s broken out of his trance when Taeyong shakes his shoulder, the screaming in the pitch having risen to ear-shattering levels. The teams were making their cool-down rounds around the pitch, faces flushed from exertion but satisfied nonetheless. Jaehyun loops around the pitch, face streaked with mud but grinning exuberantly. Doyoung’s heart does an odd little loop in his chest when Jaehyun speeds past him, winking mischievously.

 

Doyoung smiles instinctively, hand coming up to grab the smooth fabric of the scarf.

 

From beside him, Taeyong shakes his head exasperatedly.

 

\--

 

Later at night, when the lights in the Gryffindor tower flick off, Tokki flaps through his dorm windows, settling clumsily on Doyoung’s bedside table. “What you got for me?” Doyoung strokes Tokki’s head, and the owl preens slightly. Unrolling the small sheet of parchment, he’s greeted with a familiar scrawl.

 

_Midnight, astronomy tower?_

_P.S: Sorry I borrowed your owl!_

_Jaehyunnie_

He feeds a little owl biscuit to Tokki, lifting her out of the window, tucking the little sheet beneath his pillow.

 

\--

 

He slips out of the dormitory quietly, casting a silencing spell on his shoes. The trek up to the astronomy tower is extremely tiring, but the door cracked open at the top of the stairs fuels his determination to get up the tower without collapsing.

 

Panting, he pushes open the door, stumbling over the top step. Jaehyun sits on the one of the outermost railings, legs swinging. “You might fall over,” Doyoung calls, stepping gingerly over the slippery floor.

 

Jaehyun turns around immediately, beaming brightly. “You’re here!”

 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Doyoung huffs, reaching the railings and standing next to Jaehyun, staring out from Hogwart’s highest viewpoint. “Well, you didn’t reply my note.” Jaehyun pouts.

 

“Until now, you still doubt me?” Doyoung snorts.

 

“Well, up till three months ago, I’m pretty sure you hated me.”

 

“I didn’t—hate you.”

 

“Really?” Jaehyun turns his body around fully, facing Doyoung. “But you always ran away from me whenever you saw me in the halls!”

 

“Because you were probably going to do something stupid!” Doyoung defends himself.

 

“But you like it, right?” Jaehyun says, with an air of satisfaction that can only stem from an incredible amount of confidence.

 

Doyoung pauses, looking up at the sky. “Hey!” Jaehyun whines.

 

“I guess,” He says eventually, thinking of the very first time Jaehyun had exploded his cauldron. “I bet you’re thinking of the first time I exploded my cauldron in 3rdyear Potions. C’mon, let go of that! It’s been three years, Doyoungie.”

 

“Not really, seeing as you just blew up another cauldron last week.” Doyoung unravels Jaehyun’s scarf from his next, holding it out to him. “Your scarf.”

 

Jaehyun wrinkles his nose at it. “Keep it.”

 

“It’s yours, though?”

 

“I have another one. Plus, it looks good on you.” Doyoung blushes for what seemed to be the tenth time today, acquiescing and wrapping the scarf back over his shoulders.

 

They fall into a comfortable silence, the only sound between them the wind blowing past the tower. “Hey, you know, right?” Jaehyun starts.

 

“What?”

 

“That I like you?” He almost stumbles over his words.

 

“I think it’s been obvious, Jaehyunnie.” Doyoung quips, flashing back to the beginning of the year when Jaehyun bothered him in the library. Back then, he’d been mildly annoyed, but now, he would be more than happy to spend time around the other boy.

 

“Ah,” Jaehyun says weakly, letting out a nervous laugh.

 

“Maybe this isn’t the best way to say it, but you’ve kind of—kind of grown on me. A bit like the, you know, the the common Conocybe Filaris mushroom.” Doyoung shifts a little closer to Jaehyun, hands grasping his waist slightly so as to ensure the other boy doesn’t fall off the railings.

 

Jaehyun gapes wordlessly. “That’s, by far, the cutest thing someone’s said to me.” He murmurs after a while of speechlessness, smiling.

 

“I suppose.” Doyoung acknowledges.

 

“I’ve never dated before.” Jaehyun admits softly.

 

“Me neither.”

 

“I guess we can be each other’s firsts, then?” Jaehyun slips off the railings, stepping a little closer to Doyoung.

 

“First person to annoy me in Hogwarts, first person to give me a serious allergy reaction, first boyfriend, they’re all similar, huh?” Doyoung teases, pulling Jaehyun closer by the waist.

 

“Perfect.” Jaehyun whispers.

 

When they meet in the middle, it feels like, for the first time in their lives, the world rights itself, things clicking into place perfectly.

 

It feels complete.

 

**Author's Note:**

> would u believe me if i said this took me TWO MONTHS to finish this. hais. brain fart. pls discuss hyuckhei n bnha n tomarry w me. title from i’ve been waiting. (not edited not even read through PLS point out mistakes)


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